Supporting Small Businesses

As Murphy's Law would have it, while we're boycotting Starbucks, my Keurig and my ice-maker stopped working.

So it's Wednesday, the day I usually write from Starbuck's and I had to window shop for a new place to feel comfortable without the drink I usually get.

Just this weekend a white facebook friend shared the meme below.

I commented, "I thought that was a black thing 🤣".

She didn't respond. It wasn't funny for me to add a laughing emoji. It was kind of one of those things - you make a comment and laugh about it so you won't make someone uncomfortable. Maybe it made her uncomfortable anyway. Maybe she already knew what happened at Starbucks in Philadelphia; at the time I had not.

But this is how it is. It's the natural way to feel. I just can't go in a store all willy nilly and not feel "watched".

I went into Bed Bath and Beyond this morning to look at the Keurig machines. I knew I wasn't getting anything, so I hid my purse under my jacket and left it in the car. I didn't want to go in with my purse and walk out without a purchase.

There's a Hallmark store here that I've stopped shopping at altogether. As it is, I'd take off my big coat before going inside, only to have an employee ask if I needed any help and then proceed to organize cards on the very aisle I was on. One time Christopher and I were in there looking at Christmas ornaments. But as we were looking, we were asked several times if we needed any help finding something, while there were other people around not asked the same question. I thought to myself, you'd think they'd assume that I'm not going to steal anything while I have my child with me. Geez.

Supporting small businesses and why my broken ice-maker is relevant.

My drink of choice, since I've been dieting is a double shot of espresso over ice, in a venti cup. It has a special Starbucks name but I always say it the long way. Then I pour a Premier Caramel or Cookies & Cream Protein drink over it. I usually sit, sip and write as long as my drink lasts and then I leave.

There's a Mom & Pop coffee shop close to my home, called Muddy's, that has WONDERFUL coffee. But I rarely have cash and you can't use a card unless it's over $5. I'm also not going in there and asking if he has anything like a "venti cup" with ice. I go there and ask for two shots of espresso and then come home and make my drink. But I have no ice. See I finally got around to the relevance.

Though their place has "free wifi", it doesn't have the sit around atmosphere I feel comfortable writing in.

So I window shopped for a new place today. It's a 20-minute drive from my home, but it's only 5-minutes from where I am on Wednesday mornings.

I sat in the car wondering if when they saw me coming they'd say, "Here comes one of those Starbucks refugees." But I didn't have my laptop in tow.

It's cute. I got an Americano and it was delicious.

Looks like some serious coffee stuff goes on back there.

So maybe I'll go there again next week and see if I can write from a stool. I don't know when I'll be in the mood to go to Starbucks again. But I'm happy to see that action has been taken in a major way.

Sporadically Yours,

On 5/29, we'll close US company-owned stores to conduct racial-bias training to address implicit bias & prevent discrimination. We're taking a hard look at who we are as a company. We’re ashamed & recognize that racial bias is a problem we must address. https://t.co/xIYc75BJPj